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Historical Society – Bible Fellowship Church

July, 2016

[I may have gotten carried away. I became curious about our process of ordination and

decided to follow how it developed. It turned into a project longer than I anticipated but

having done what I wanted, I will share it in this way. To add a little color, I will add

pictures of some of the men who have served as preachers in the MBC / BFC. How

many of them do you recognize? Some of you will have known some of them but no

one knew all of them. How far back do you go? Dick Taylor]

Ordination in the Bible Fellowship Church

Those who have had any connection with a church

have heard of ordination. They don’t always know

what it is or what it means but they have heard of it.

They know that normally a minister / pastor /

preacher has been ordained which puts a Rev. in

front of his name which means he is a reverend even

if he is not revered. Often, people think that being

ordained makes a man something he was not before

he was ordained.

While the purpose of this article is not to journey

through the background or the theology behind

ordination, it will be important to understand what

ordination is and what it is not. Ordination is

recognition by a church that a man has been called

to serve the church in the public role of preacher.

Ordination does not turn a man into something he is

not. Men do not become great preachers because they are ordained. Men do not

become more holy because they are ordained. They simply become recognized.

Usually, the process begins when a men believes he has been called by God to the

office of minister in a church. When he makes that known, the church will agree or

disagree. If the church agrees that he has been called, they will recognize that officially

by ordaining him or declaring that they agree that he has been called by God.

The BFC has a process by which men become ordained. I have been part of that

process for nearly 30 years by serving on the Ministerial Candidate Committee which

Abel Strawn

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begins by examining men and seeking to determine if

indeed they have been called by God. The process

we follow takes between one and three years. When

a man believes he has been called by God, he applies

to be recognized. If after interviews and doctrinal tests

and, if the Ministerial Candidate Committee agrees, he

is permitted to serve in a church and, if that goes well,

he is recommended to the Bible Fellowship

Conference which ordains him at the annual meeting

of the Conference, in recent years, at the Tuesday

evening meeting.

But, that is not always how it was done. While the

theory of ordination has changed very little, the

process of recognizing has always been changing.

Now, we are at the point of this article. How has the

recognition of men for ministry in the Evangelical

Mennonites / Brethren In Christ / Bible Fellowship Church changed through the years?

Let’s take the journey.

The earliest minutes say little about the need to recognize the call of men. That is not

surprising because they were just getting started and had not thought much about

processes and procedures. The first time a decision was made was when Eusebius

Hershey showed up. They were certainly glad to have him but there would be more to it

than him simply showing up and asking to join. So, a

decision was made. “On the fourth session, June 4,

1861 in the same Meeting House in Milford Township,

Lehigh County, Brother Eusebius Hershey was

selected as a preacher with full powers of the Word.

He presented a certificate of release from the United

Brethren in Christ congregation where he was a

preacher.” (Verhandlungen, page 27) The word,

ordination, was first used in 1864 in regard to the

young protégé of Hershey, Levi Jung.

6. At the desire of Brother Levi Jung, who

traveled with Brother Hershey for some time in

Canada preaching the Gospel, he was asked

by the Chairman to tell the assembly of his

extraordinary calling by God to continue in this

Abraham Kauffman

G. A. Campbell

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work. After examination of this matter and

sympathetic discussion, consent was granted to

have him ordained to be a servant of the Word of

God. (Verhandlungen, page 39)

“Examination of this matter and sympathetic discussion”

shows that they were aware of the need to examine and

think through the fact of a man’s call.

In 1866, the Evangelical Mennonites published their

Doctrines and Disciplines. They had begun to think

about the importance of a doctrinal statement but also of

procedures they would follow. Recognition of a man’s

call would be included. They recorded the following:

10. Teachers and Ministers in the Church

We believe and confess that the Church without office and ordinance

cannot continue in its growth and culture; that for this reason Christ the Lord

himself, as a father in his house, has instituted his offices and ordinances, that he

has given commands and injunctions concerning them, and has ordained how

each one should walk therein, and have regard to his word and calling.

Further, we believe that the calling of Christian preachers and ministers

happens in two ways: the godly and the ecclesiastical. Some without any

interposition of man are called of God only, as was the case with the Prophets

and Apostles; and some by the interposition of

the pious, as may be seen in Acts 1, 14. Gal.

15,16. (What Mean These Stones, page 29)

They saw two means through which a man might be

called. The two approaches corresponded to the two

streams that had come together in them,

Mennonitism and revivalism. A local congregation of

Mennonites often selected from their men by means

of the lot. The men were called to pick from a stack

of Bibles, one of which contained a slip of paper. It

was believed that the man who picked the Bible with

the slip of paper was the man God had ordained to

be their preacher. The slip of paper, the lot, was not

random but a deliberate way God would make known

his will. William Gehman had been selected in this

W. G. Gehman

Mr Mrs H. B. Musselman

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way while among the Oberholtzer Mennonites from

which we took root. The other means was a call of

God. A man would receive an impulse which was

thought to be of God by the Holy Spirit through which

God indicated to him that he should be a preacher.

Because of the unsettled and perhaps unstable

workings of revivalism, it was easy enough for a man

to declare himself called of God and set out to preach.

No indication is given that a man was ever chosen to

serve by lot from among the Evangelical Mennonites.

It seems that there were more preachers than there

were churches so no man had to accept the mantle of

the preacher against his will through a lot. And,

revivalism had taken root. So, it seems that from the

beginning the process of recognition began when a

man believed he had been called by God, an example

of which is found in Levi Jung.

At the conference of 1875, Sidenham Lambert was ordained. “12. Brother S. Lambert,

a preacher on probation, was ordained to perform official duties as an evangelical

preacher.” The minutes give no idea about what the service of ordination looked like or

whether some special occasion was established. Probably, formality was minimized but

dignity for the office was maximized.

Our first clue to what an ordination service might

have looked like came in 1880 with the Evanglical

United Mennonites with whom we joined in 1883 to

form the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. Their

discipline contained the following format for

ordaining an elder which was later included

verbatim in the 1897 Discipline.

Section VI Ordination of Elders.

1. On the day appointed there shall be a suitable sermon or exhortation delivered.

2. After the names of those to be ordained have been read aloud, the

presiding elder shall read the

E. T. Shick family

W. B. Musselman

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following articles to all who may be chosen for ordination;

“A bishop must be blameless as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given filthy lucre, but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate, holding fast to the faithful Word, as he hath been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convince the gain-sayers.” – Titus 1: 7-9.

Question; Do you feel inwardly persuaded that you are moved upon by the Holy Ghost to take

upon you the office of the ministry of the Gospel, to serve God in the Church of Christ, to honor and glory His holy name? Answer: Of this I am persuaded. Question; Do you believe the Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testament? Answer: I do believe them. Question; Will you apply due diligence to frame and fashion your life according to the doctrines of Christ; and to make yourself as much as in you lieth, a worthy example of the flock of Christ? Answer: I will, the Lord being my helper. Question; Will You obey them to whom the charge and government over you is committed, and follow their Godly admonitions with a willing and ready mind? Answer: I will, by the grace of God.

Prayer. After prayer, the presiding elder and elders present, shall lay their hands

upon the heads of every one of them, and say: “Take thou authority to execute the office of an elder in the Church of God, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.”

Then the presiding elder shall present to each one a copy of the Holy Bible, saying: “Take thou authority to read and preach the Word of God, and administer the ordinances in the Church of Christ.”

Prayer. After prayer, read Luke 15: 35-38. “Let your

loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.” “Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when He cometh, shall find watching. Verily, I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them sit down to eat, and will come forth and serve them. And if He shall come in the second watch, or in the third watch, and find them

W. F. Heffner

Horace Kauffman

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so, blessed are those servants.” After this, the following benediction is to

be pronounced: “The peace of God keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

By 1888, the need for some sort of preparation for ministry had begun to be felt. Men entered the ministry through some sort of probationary service but the call to preach was the issue. At the General Conference of 1888, procedures to help prepare probationers were put into place. They began by refining their definitions.

Sec. 3, Chapter 4." OF THE RECEPTION OF ELDERS. Resolved, That the word "Elders" be erased and the words "Candidates for the ministry" be inserted.

Resolved, That the following addition be made to par. 3, "where he shall be examined and if passed satisfactory, to be taken on probation for three years." "No probationer is to be ordained until the church is fully satisfied that he is capable of taking charge of a work."

A committee was instructed to write a list of duties for probationers.

DUTIES OF PROBATIONERS.- They shall labor according to the direction of the

annual conference. If a charge be assigned to them, their duties are the same as

those of the traveling elders, except solemnizing marriages; and administer

baptism and communion, only by the permission of the Presiding Elder. If

directed to labor as a helper their duties are the same as under sec. 6.

The conviction that men should be trained for the ministry manifested itself in the

formation of the Reading Course. It was

both impractical and undesirable for men to

begin some sort of formal education. Most

of the men who served at this point were

bi-vocational and needed to work to

support family. Formal education had not

yet taken root and was somewhat frowned

upon. In later years, higher education was

viewed as destructive to biblical faith. This

attitude would not begin to disappear until

the 1940s. Until that time, the Reading

Course would be the training pastors would

Mr Mrs C. H. Brunner

J. C. Roth family

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do to prepare for ministry. The Reading Course was a

prescribed list of books that would be read over a three

year period. The reading included the Bible, church history

and theology. The probationer would take a yearly

examination on his reading and be expected to pass the

exam in order to proceed. The future minister was

expected to fulfill the training and expectation. As was

quoted above, "No probationer is to be ordained until the

church is fully satisfied that he is capable of taking charge

of a work."

In 1889, when the conference approved William Heffner for

ordination, it declared that “he shall be ordained by the

Presiding Elder at the earliest proper occasion.” In 1896,

the Conference set a service of ordination for Sunday

afternoon. Since the conference usually began on Thursday at that point and ended on

Monday, Sunday was prime time. For the next couple decades, a Sunday afternoon

service would be the tradition. It became a major event which was attended by many

people from the churches. The report of 1901 contained the first of many glowing

annual reports about this special Sunday service.

W. G. Gehman addressed the Sunday School at 9:30 At 10 o'clock H. B. Musselman preached the Conference sermon from I Cor. 4:1,2 The duties and responsibilities of the Pastor were brought out very prominently. How he is to devote his time in saving souls and edifying the body of Christ.

At 2:30 P.M. C. H. Brunner preached the Ordination sermon from Rom 1:14, 16. The address was fraught with practical thoughts, especially portraying the life of the Apostle Paul. E. T. Shick and W. W. Zimmerman were ordained "by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." This part of the service was very touching. The Lord melted their hearts as well as many others.

After a praise meeting in the evening led by W. W. Ziegler, W. B. Musselman preached a stirring and practical sermon on the New Commandment

from John 13: 36.

P. T. Stengele

T. D. Gehret

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The church was crowded all day and the Lord's presence was manifested in power and glory.

The larger spectacle Sunday services came to an

end in 1932. “Resolved, That the next Annual

Conference be held beginning Wednesday, October

11, 1933, at 9 a.m. and that there be no Sunday

Services.” But, this was a one year hiatus because

the services were scheduled again in 1934 and

Sunday afternoon services and ordinations

returned. However, 1932 was the last of Monday

sessions and from then on the conference ended on

Saturday afternoon. In 1942, the ordination service

was returned to a night during the conference. As

always, no rationale for the change is given in the

minutes. Perhaps it was simply a matter of

convenience. Since the conference ended on

Saturday, traveling back for another service became

difficult. Yet, no tradition had formalized so in 1947

the Sunday afternoon service and ordination returned. But for that year only. The era

of Sunday services came to an end.

The years following 1947 brought a separation from the Mennonite Brethren in Christ.

The Pennsylvania Conference launched out on its own. What followed was a top to

bottom rethinking of what and how things should be done. New wine needs new

wineskins.

It was only natural that the process of credentialing and

ordaining would be examined and reconsidered.

Report of the Reading Course Revision Committee:

After a discussion of the aims and development of the Reading Course and a review of our present procedures, together with material already presented to Annual Conference and returned for further study, the following procedure was suggested:

1. We recommend the election of a Committee on Examination of Candidates for the

Ministry. This committee is to consist of five

F. M. Hottel

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ordained ministers elected annually by the Conference.

2. We recommend the following procedure:

A. Preliminary

The following examinations are to be given by Home/Foreign Missions Board:

1. A uniform questionnaire

2. An oral examination

(After at least a six months period the following would take place):

B. A Faith and Order Examination (now termed The Discipline)

1. On the doctrine of the church

2. On the order of the church

These examinations are to be given by the Committee on the Examination of Candidates for the Ministry.

The examinations would consist of written tests, requested papers, oral exams, and the like.

C. The Committee on Examination of Candidates for the Ministers would eliminate the need of the Reading Course except in unusual cases. In such cases the Committee on Examination of Candidates for the Ministry would determine which books would be studied by the applicant. The books studied would be selected from among the following areas: Bible, Apologetics, Theology, Practical Theology, Church History, Christian Education, Hermeneutics and Homiletics.

The conference of 1961 brought new terminology

and re-organization.

We recommend the formation of a Credentials Committee as a substitute for the following:

a. Committee to Examine Traveling Elders.

Hartman Brothers

Paul Baer family

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b. Committee to Examine Applicants for Annual Conference License.

c. Committee to Examine Candidates for Ordination.

d. Committee to Examine District Superintendents, Local Preachers, Evangelists and Missionaries.

e. Committee Over the District Superintendents. (Please note that the present Committee Over the District Superintendents is composed of three members — this would be the three members of the Credentials Committee exclusive of the District Superintendents.)

f. Yeas and Nays Roll Call.

This conference of 1961 also brought the formation of the Ministerial Candidate Committee.

REPORT OF THE MINISTERIAL CANDIDATE COMMITTEE

(Second Reading)

The Ministerial Candidate Committee met six times during the year. The problem of enlisting and choosing men for the ministries of the Bible Fellowship Church was discussed in the light of the formation of this committee, its objectives and its duties. This committee did not examine any candidates this year.

This committee makes the following recommendations to the Annual Conference:

1. The OBJECTIVE of the Ministerial Candidate Committee shall be: To provide the Bible Fellowship Church with a ministry that is called of God, true to the Word, filled with the Holy Spirit, dedicated wholeheartedly to Jesus Christ and thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

2. The DUTIES of the Ministerial Candidate Committee shall be as follows:

(1) To receive applications from all those who offer themselves for service in the Bible Fellowship Church.

(2) To take under care the candidates and probationers while in

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Mr Mrs J. B. Henry

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training.

(3) To examine those who offer themselves for service in our Church determining as far as possible the sincerity and genuineness of their call to the ministry.

(4) To ascertain as far as possible whether the candidates and probationers have the Scriptural qualifications of a minister of the Word of God.

(5) To safeguard the doctrinal purity of the Church by exercising vigilance when examining prospective ministers concerning their beliefs and practices

endeavoring to approve only those who are committed without reservation to the authority of the Scriptures and the doctrines and practices of our Church as the system of doctrine taught in Scripture.

(6) To license probationers for the Annual Conference prior to ordination.

(7) To recommend qualified probationers to the Credentials Committee for ordination examination.

3. The TERMS used to designate the classification of those under the care of this committee shall be applicant, candidate and probationer. An applicant is a man who offers himself to this committee for service in the Bible Fellowship Church. A candidate is a man whose application is accepted and who remains under the guidance of this committee. A probationer is a man who has been approved by this committee, has passed an examination on the Faith and Order of the Bible Fellowship Church, and is working under the jurisdiction of the Board of Church Extension or the Board of Foreign Missions.

4. The PROCEDURE to be followed by an individual offering himself for service in the Bible Fellowship Church shall be as follows:

(1) The applicant would make known to the Chairman of the Ministerial Candidate Committee his desire to serve in the Bible Fellowship Church,

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(2) The applicant will fill out and file with the committee an application received from the Chairman, which shall include the following: personal information; approval of his local conference; letters of recommendation from his pastor, a former employer, and a former instructor.

(3) The candidate will carry out a program of personal development and training developed in consultation with this committee.

(4) When this committee believes that he is prepared and when the candidate

is ready to enter the work of the Bible Fellowship Church; upon approval of this committee, the candidate will be recommended to the Board of Church Extension or the Board of Foreign Missions. Part of this approval is passing the Examination on the Faith and Order of the Bible Fellowship Church.

(5) During the time of work with the Board of Church Extension or the Board of Foreign Missions, the probationer will be under the jurisdiction of this committee; and his work will be under the jurisdiction of the Board with whom he works.

(6) At the end of the probationary period, upon approval of this committee, the probationer will be recommended to the Credentials Committee and his probationary period will cease. To serve as a candidate and probationer does not guarantee being recommended for ordination examination.

The conference of 1969 brought a new format in the following report:

The Annual Conference in its 1966 meetings asked the Credentials

Committee and Candidate

Committee to submit a form for

ordination that would reflect our

understanding of Ordination of

Ministers of the Word of God which

was summarized in the statement

approved by the Conference in

1965.

These two Committees have

unanimously approved the following

material and present it to you for

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Donald Kirkwood family

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your approval.

SUGGESTED FORM FOR ORDINATION OF

MINISTERS

After all proper examinations and

preparations have been made according to our

rules and upon the approval of the Annual

Conference at the recommendation of the

Credentials Committee, the approved probationer

shall be ready for public ordination to the Christian

ministry. The Credentials Committee shall be

responsible to make proper preparation for the

ordination service. On the day appointed for the

service of ordination, a minister shall preach a

sermon adapted to the occasion. The Chairman of

the Credentials Committee, or another member of

the Committee, appointed by him, shall afterwards

briefly cite the proceedings of the Committee in

preparation for ordination and the importance of the occasion.

Then addressing himself to the candidate, he shall propose to him the

following questions:

(1) Do you believe in one God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and do you confess

anew the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord, and acknowledge Him

Head over all things to the Church which is His body?

(2) Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the

inspired Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and life?

(3) Do you sincerely receive and adopt the

Articles of Faith of the Bible Fellowship Church,

as containing the system of doctrine taught in

the Holy Scriptures?

(4) Will you endeavor to follow the government

and discipline of the Bible Fellowship Church?

(5) Do you promise subjection to your brethren

in the Lord?

(6) Have you been inwardly persuaded, as far as

you know your own heart, to seek the office of

the Christian ministry in response to God's call

out of love for Him and a sincere desire to

promote His glory in the gospel of His Son?

(7) Do you engage to be zealous and faithful in

maintaining the truth of the gospel and the purity

John Golla

Mr Mrs H. K. Kratz

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and peace of the Church whatever persecution

or opposition may arise unto you on that

account?

(8) Do you engage to be faithful and diligent in

the exercise of all your duties as a Christian

and a minister of the gospel both private and

public endeavoring by the grace of God to feed

the flock of which God shall make you

overseer, to seek the salvation of the lost and

to walk with exemplary piety before men?

The candidate, having answered these

questions in the affirmative, shall kneel; he

shall be solemnly set apart to the gospel

ministry by the offering of prayer and the laying

on of hands of ministers according to the

apostolic example.

Prayer being ended, he shall rise from his knees; and the minister who

presides shall take him by the right hand and say in effect:

(To Candidate): "We give you the right hand of fellowship to take part in

this ministry with us.

(To Congregation): "I now pronounce that A. B. is ordained to the gospel

ministry, according to the Word of God and the Faith and Order of the Bible

Fellowship Church; as such he is entitled to all support, encouragement, honor

and obedience in the Lord. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the

Holy Spirit. Amen.

Afterward all the ordained ministers of the Bible Fellowship Church

present shall welcome the newly ordained brother to the ministry with the right

hand of fellowship.

This format continues in use for ordinations today.

When and where ordinations should take place is still a free floating matter. The ordination service of 1970 saw David Branning and Leonard Buck recognized on November 19 at the Coopersburg Church, nearly one month after the Conference had ended.

The setting of the time and place of ordinations has attempted to insure a

Mr Mrs E. E. Kublic

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maximum number of pastors and people are able to attend. In 1977 and 1978, the Conference was held at Pinebrook Junior College. The ordinations of those two years were held at the Coopersburg Bible Fellowship Church. The practice of ordaining at the conference returned then. With the exception of 1984 when the ordination service was held in Reading, the service again became part of conference. Beginning in 1992, the Tuesday night of conference was dedicated to the ordination service which was held for several years following at the Stroudsburg Bible Fellowship Church.

Again, declining attendance brought another time for the service. Another format was introduced in 2003. Men would be ordained at the conference and their ordination recognized at the church in which they served. This allowed for a formal recognition with the other pastors and recognition at the local church which could be attended by the people of the church without having to journey a distance.

Certainly, the time and place of ordinations will continue to change. As the geographical spread of our denomination increases, the time and place of ordinations will probably change. But ordination will still be a special event both in the life of the man called by God and the church that sees that God has

raised him up.

Jack Dunn

Mr Mrs David Chappell

D. Thomas Phillips Harold Weaber

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That ends our journey through the development of our ordination practices. I will be

glad for any questions, comments, memories, or corrections.

You can contact me by email – retaylor723@gmail.com

Or, by the historical method – 3707 John Drive, Brookhaven PA 19015

A couple more pictures:

Robert Smock David Thomann